Ran the mazda a little bit, its a fun car.
Also ran the williams for a few laps at silverstone. Its crazy fast and it sticks real good. pushed it in 7th gear a few times. but i couldn't look downat how fast i was going.

I've always wondered if there were a virtual racing environment that folks frequent to improve their skills... kinda like the flight sims our Air Force pilots use. Wonder if this is what the professional racers are doing in their off time! LOL What's the start up cost to get going with the steering wheel/pedals/etc?

The Mazda is a blast and really easy to get the feel of. Not sloppy feeling like the Solstice, although I haven't tried the Solstice with tire model they just added.

Here's a link to an article about iRacing that Sports Illustrated ran last December.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ing/index.html

In the last year I have ran races or practice sessions with quite a few real-life professional, national champion, and amateur drivers from Nascar Sprint Cup, SCCA Spec Miata and Skip Barber, and karting. I find it really cool to be able to test your skills against nationally recognized drivers.

Generally I've found that if a driver is fast in real life they are also fast in the sim. I believe this is due to iRacing doing an excellent job of duplicating the physics of the vehicle and the accuracy of the track models. One of the drivers that ran the iRacing Mustang series this last season, was top qualifier in a couple of the real-life GrandAm races last year. Typically, he's quite a bit faster than the rest of the field, with only a small group of iRacers globally that run similar times. Racing with and being able to analyze replays of professional drivers definately helps to figure out what you're not doing quite quite right and where to pick up a few tenths.


You can get a Logitech Driving Force GT at just about any electronics or department store for about $100. It's a good entry level force feedback wheel, but the two-pedal set isn't all that spectacular.
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/gaming...s/devices/4172

From there you can step up to a Logitech G27 for about $300. Larger wheel, better pedals with a clutch and H-pattern shifter.
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/gaming...s/devices/5184

iRacing is running a special right now; three months for I think $12.

Do you guys prefer the automatic/paddles or the manual shifter?

Went to the websites... I'd love to get the seat/pedals/wheel combo!

Thanks for the info! :thumbsup:

Hey guys this sounds like a blast. I would love to get into this with everyone. Since I'm getting ready to build myself a new computer, what do I need to know to get for it to get the best experience? Saw some kid playing a 3 monitor thing at the electronics store the other day, looks like a real blast.

Can't open most of the links or videos from here at work, but will check some of them out tonight.

I run H-pattern manual with a clutch pedal normally. But, you can choose to have it auto-clutch. Most wheels will have a shift knob and paddles, so you can pick either.


Here's a link to the posted system requirements.
http://www.iracing.com//membership/system-requirements/

Triple monitors are highly recommended to increase your peripheral vision. It's a lot easier to race clean in traffic without guessing where the car is next to you.

I'm running a Core2Duo E8400 3.0Ghz, 5GB ram, ATI 5770, with three 22" monitors. My system is kinda borderline for running triple monitors. Frame rates range from 45-75 at 5040x1050. Single monitor resolutions with this hardware combo easily outputs over 100fps.

Have you guys, tested out the William Toyota?
I ran it at laguna its nuts, in the solstice the quickest was a 1:51.8 in the Williams I went 1:12. The course seemed small going that quick.

Also had to buy road atlanta and mid ohio to run the maxda mx-5 I didn't have those tracks.
Have you guys run of course with it yet? In the solstice if you hit grass or sand, its like ice and your into the wall. In the Mazda you can actually save it in most situations.

I just picked up the Williams last night. That's funny, I had the exact same feeling that the track was small. I thought it was just the viewing angle giving that perception, because the seat is so low. But, I'm sure speed has a lot to do with that feeling as well. That thing is a handful to say the least. Really gotta be on your toes... constantly.

Take a look at this guys setup...

https://www.youtube.com/user/chadsmith20

I need this setup.